COUPLE CARES FOR CURIOUS PURPLE MARTINS

Autumn and Mike Hughey have turned their property into an official purple martin sanctuary.

Autumn Hughey checks the inside of one of their many homes.

According to their T-shirts, they're "out of their gourds over purple martins."

It's a not-so-obvious play on words if you know very little about purple martins. But Mike and Autumn Hughey of Altenburg don't fall into this category, they know a lot about these migrating birds -- it's their hobby.

Gourds, which are hard shelled fruit shaped like squash, are used by the birds as homes, after a few modifications made by the Hugheys. The Hugheys grow the gourds themselves, drill holes in them, hollow them out and paint them in preparation for the birds arrival.

They both love the birds, which is why their especially excited this time of year, it's time for the birds to return. In fact they're doing it already, there are nearly 60 martins making their home in the Hughey's back yard. The birds arrive in early March gone by the end of August.

"I love the chirping; the way they chatter; the way they fly; I like the way they soar and swoop into the gourd," Autumn Hughey said.

Mike Hughey says they've been living in the same house in Altenburg for 20 years and the Purple Martins have been coming for the last 15.

They've even turned their property into an official purple martin sanctuary, which is determined by the Purple Martin Conservation Association.

"We're really enjoying it," she said.

Martins are extraordinarily different from most other birds in a way that makes what the Hugheys do all the more important. They are entirely dependent upon people for their shelter during the nesting period for which they come to this area.

While it is not known how the birds came to depend on humans for their survival during this time, it has been suggested that early Native Americans were the first to discover the benefits of attracting Purple Martins to their villages by hanging hollowed-out gourds.

Documents from the 18th and 19th centuries suggest that these early Americans attracted martins to their villages because they acted like scarecrows, chasing crows away from their corn patches, and vultures away from their meats and hides hung out to dry.

Today, humans carry on the tradition of taking care of the birds during their brief visit in the northern hemisphere.

The Hugheys have done this buy placing many gourds on poles in their back yard next to their garden. They provide food for the martins (they eat egg shells) and Mike Hughey checks on the babies while the parents are out searching for food.

They built these gourds four years ago after Autumn's mother bought her her first gourd.

While they admit it is hard work, the Hugheys say it's worth it.

"We watch them every night," Autumn said. "We really enjoy it."

And she admits a little sheepishly that she misses them when they have to return to South America.

"It gets very quiet. I miss them when they're gone and I'm anxious for them to come back when they leave."